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what yanagi to buy?

i chipped my Yoshihiro the other day while cutting steak when my phone rang and i banged the tip of the knife into a glass bowl when i tried to grab it (the phone). i was able to fix the knife fairly quickly, but it got me to thinking that, if i hadn't been able to fix it quickly, i would have wanted to get a new yanagi (excuses for buying new knives come quick and easy, yes?). $500 is about what i would want to spend (overkill for my needs, really, but a man wants what a man wants) and the Mizuno DX Blue #1 300mm with the upgraded ebony handle fits right in the sweet spot. is there anything else at this price range that i should really be looking at? i really love my Mizuno gyuto, and figure the yanagi can't be anything but even nicer (i'd buy a Shig, but i don't want to be on a waiting list). i likely won't buy until early next year, unless another "accident" should happen, but it's nice to have plans in motion ahead of time (or i could quit buying and cellaring wine for a little while to buy a new knife, but where's the fun in that?).

Suisin Densho White #1 300 yanagi or Geshin Hide Blue #1 300 yanagi. Both right at $500 and I've drooled over both for months. Hide can also get you a Shig in about 3 months time, so that's really not too much of a waiting list.

hmmm, three months really isn't bad. the others look like good choices, too, and getting the Geshin Hide would support Jon, who i consider to be a good internet acquaintance. i have this thing where i like to have various brands represented, but i also like having matching sets, so it's hard to decide when you have a fairly broad knife collection (mine is much less broad than it was before i started selling, but still fairly broad).

then again, i've never owned or used a suji, maybe i should get one of those before worrying about replacing my perfectly functional yanagi.

My next knife is a 210 suji... after that I think I'll have all the basic styles I'm interested in covered and it will be more expensive stuff that I will be going after, a piece at a time. Probably a custom cleaver, then a high end yanagi. Maybe after that a custom gyuto. But I really like the 210 petty/suji, seems like something that would be really useful as a grab and go knife when going to friends for dinner and I know they have no knives of usefulness. Ones size sorta does all thing.

Suisin Densho White #1 300 yanagi or Geshin Hide Blue #1 300 yanagi. Both right at $500 and I've drooled over both for months. Hide can also get you a Shig in about 3 months time, so that's really not too much of a waiting list.

Just killed my text,here the second attempt: I don't know much about yanagis, but tonight one of our forum colleagues here was over and showed my his two recent yanagi acquisitions: A 270 Shigefusa damascus and a 300 Suisin Densho white #1. And I have to say, they are two totally different knives. The Shihefusa is thin, nimble, very elegant, perfect F&F, like a classy race horse. The Densho is much wider and thicker, very blade heavy, but also with great F&F (mirror polish) - a good lookinig work horse compared to the Shgefusa thoroughbread (I don't think I ever wrote that word before...). The Densho will fall through a piece of fish by its own weight, with the Shigefusa you will have to cut but it will glide through with little resistance and great feedback - at least that's my imagination after fondling them for a while. Seeing the two next to each other, they are so different (besides the length dfference, obviously) that I am not sure one would replace the other - you clearly need both

I have a Densho kiritsuke that is a great knife to use, so I think the yanagi would be an excellent choice.

I have a Gesshin Hide yanagi but I really haven't put much time into it. Build quality is great, and it feels good to me. I've never tried a Shige yanagi, so I can't comment there, but it compares very nicely to the other yanagis I've used before.